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“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out” – Robert Collier.

I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Collier, but what do those small efforts look like on an everyday level? What are the little things that your body needs to stay healthy as you endure a grueling season of ___________ (it all counts).

This list is meant to be encouraging. So don’t go getting all – “I don’t have time for that”, “I’m too busy to take care of myself, I have too much training/practice to do”. The key to this opportunity is SMALL. Remember, its all the little things that you do that keep you healthy and in the game.

1. Have a great OFF SEASON! – this is your chance to let your body heal up. Get rested and get ready for the next opportunity to succeed. So if you skip this, you are missing out. Give your self 2-4 weeks of fun, play, recovery, something different. When making your training program, start with a defined off-season. Whether your 11 or 59 playing baseball or running a marathon, your body is not meant to do the same thing all year round.
2. Get STRONGER – that’s right people strong and stable muscles get hurt less, they protect joints, they hit the ball further and they protect you. So get stronger. The pre-season time is best time to make this happen. 3-5 strength workouts per week: weights, crossfit, boot camp, ABC Pilates, Run Fusion, etc. You can strength training (and you should) during season too, but knock it down to 1-2 strength workouts per week.
3. Build your CORE – your core is where its at. Its the center of you, its the first thing that contracts when you throw a baseball and it should be engaged during your entire marathon. It can be trained daily and core work should be challenging but fun. No I am not talking about sit ups here, they work your abs and make you look good on the beach; but they don’t do much for your core. I’m talking about Planks, Overhead Squats, Spiderman’s, Pilates, Inch-worms, etc… These strengthen and stabilize the center of you so that your arms and legs can be awesome.
4. RECOVER every day – if you want to feel great for tomorrow’s workout. Your time spent recovering each day is dependant on how long and how hard your days workout was. It can be as easy as icing your throwing elbow, to as long as wearing compression pants for 6 hours after your workout. Remember, how you recover today will determine how well you start practice tomorrow.

Check out these RECOVERY opportunities:

• Cool Down for 10 minutes after your workout (stretch, drills, technique work)
• Ice if it hurts or is sore for 10 minutes. Or if you really want to treat yourself, jump in an ice bath for 8 minutes.
• Compression Pants – these work great to reduce lactic acid build up, flush your legs, and are research proven to make you run/ride faster tomorrow. 3-6 hours of wear after your workout is best.
• Stretch – spend 2 minutes stretching every muscle you used in todays practice. Slow and easy. And if your coach tells you not to stretch because it will make you slower, find a new coach (yes, I’ve heard this before:)
• Tissue work – foam roll, massage stick, massage, ART, etc. All of it works as long as you do it! This is the most important step to recovery. Spend time rewarding your tissues for the hard work they put in today. In fact, if you are going to pick one thing to do out of this whole post, PICK THIS ONE!

1. Technique – spend time honing in your technique. Work on your mechanics, do focused drills in your warm up and cool down during every workout. This is a great way to prevent injury, because the vast majority of overuse injuries come from flawed techniques. Did you know that during a 3 hour bike ride your knees bend and straighten over 16,200 times! If you do it wrong 16,000 times every workout, you’re going to get hurt! Same goes for baseball. If you throw the ball 100 times per game with bad mechanics your elbow and your shoulder will get injured. So do it RIGHT. #RunRIGHT, #BikeRIGHT, #ThrowRIGHT – biomechanical analysis and movement correction to help you get it RIGHT.
2. Get Treated – often. Your body goes through a lot every practice. Not all of it ends up in an injury, if taken care of. But it will end up in the dreaded time off, season ending, ordeal if you don’t listen to your body and get it worked on. Who works on you is up to you, PT’s, Chiro’s, ART’ers, Massage Therapists, etc are all great at keeping your tissues healthy. So find someone in your area, that helps make a difference. Of course Rausch PT has 7 PT’s, 4 massage therapists, an ART guy, and a whole rad team to keep you in the game. I know not everyone reading this lives in the OC. So go find someone that know’s how to work with athletes and can keep your tissues healthy. The more often you get treated the better you’ll feel, practice, respond, and succeed.

Bottom line, take care of your body this season and it will take care of you.

“Listen to your body when it whispers to you, because when it screams at you its too late” – Amber Neben, World Champion Cyclist.

I love this line from Amber, she’s right on. Do the little things that add up to a successful season of whatever you play. Parents, you’ll have to chat with and keep up with your kids as they work hard on their teams. Pain is never normal in any sport for any reason. Utilize the #fastpassPT option at Rausch PT to get in right away. No prescription needed to get examined and fixed by the best PT’s.

One last point – as the end of the year is coming soon. You have the opportunity to use Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts – you can use these towards our Performance Lab services. Right Right. Bike Right. Throw Right. VO2 Max. AlterG. ABC Pilates. Custom Orthotics and Hypoxico.